# 1951 Swiss Grand Prix

The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 May 1951 in Bern. The race was contested over 42 laps of the Bremgarten Circuit with it also being the opening race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers. The race was the eleventh time that the Swiss Grand Prix was held with all of the races being held at Bremgarten.
After claiming pole position for the race, Argentine driver, Juan Manuel Fangio would go on win the race by 55 seconds over Italian driver, Piero Taruffi who drove for Ferrari. Fellow Italian driver, Nino Farina rounded out the podium in the second Alfa Romeo car.

## Report

The Swiss Grand Prix, the first event of the 1951 World Championship due to the absence of Monaco from the calendar, saw the Alfa Romeo team continue their dominance of the previous season. All four of their drivers occupied positions on the front two rows of the grid; the highest non-Alfa qualifier was Ferrari's Luigi Villoresi, who was alongside Fangio and Farina on the front row.
The race took place in the rain, with Fangio initially leading from Farina. Ferrari's Piero Taruffi also challenged for the lead, having started from sixth on the grid. Fangio pitted, handing Nino Farina the lead for the 24th lap of the race. However, Farina's decision not to make a pitstop did not pay off, as Fangio was able to retake the lead on lap 29. Fangio maintained the lead for the remainder of the race, eventually winning by nearly a minute from Taruffi, who had overtaken Farina on the penultimate lap. This was Taruffi's first podium in just his second championship race. The remaining Alfa drivers—Consalvo Sanesi and Toulo de Graffenried—completed the points paying positions, ahead of Ferrari's Alberto Ascari, who competed despite suffering from burns from the previous weekend's Formula 2 race in Genoa. Stirling Moss, driving for HWM, was in seventh, but ran out of fuel on the final lap, therefore yielding the position to Louis Chiron, who was driving a Maserati for Enrico Platé.

## Entries

| No | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre |
| 2 | Johnny Claes | Ecurie Belge | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 4 | Philippe Étancelin | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 6 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 8 | Louis Rosier | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 10 | Henri Louveau | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 12 | George Abecassis | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 51 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 14 | Stirling Moss | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 51 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 16 | Peter Whitehead | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 s | D |
| 18 | Luigi Villoresi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 20 | Alberto Ascari | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 22 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159A | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 24 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159A | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159A | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 28 | Consalvo Sanesi | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159 | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s | P |
| 30 | Louis Chiron | Enrico Platé | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT-48 | Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 32 | Harry Schell | Enrico Platé | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT-48 | Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4 s | P |
| 38 | Rudi Fischer | Ecurie Espadon | Ferrari | Ferrari 212 | Ferrari 212 2.5 V12 | P |
| 40 | Guy Mairesse | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 42 | José Froilán González | José Froilán González | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-GS | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 44 | Piero Taruffi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 46 | Francis Rochat | Francis Rochat | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T11 | Simca-Gordini 16 1.5 L4 | E |
| 48 | Robert Manzon / Maurice Trintignant | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s | E |
| 50 | André Simon | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s | E |
| 52 | Peter Hirt | Peter Hirt | Veritas | Veritas Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | ? |
| Sources: |||||||
    ^1 — Consalvo Sanesi qualified and drove the entirety of the race in the #28 Alfa Romeo. Gianbattista Guidotti, named substitute driver, was not used during the Grand Prix.
    ^2 — Francis Rochat, Maurice Trintignant and André Simon all withdrew from the event prior to practice. Robert Manzon, who was entered in the #48 Simca Gordini alongside Trintignant, also withdrew.

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 24 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 2:35.9 | – |
| 2 | 22 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 2:37.8 | + 1.9 |
| 3 | 18 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 2:39.3 | + 3.4 |
| 4 | 28 | Consalvo Sanesi | Alfa Romeo | 2:40.3 | + 4.4 |
| 5 | 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 2:41.8 | + 5.9 |
| 6 | 44 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 2:45.2 | + 9.3 |
| 7 | 20 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 2:46.0 | + 10.1 |
| 8 | 8 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:52.7 | + 16.8 |
| 9 | 16 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | 2:52.9 | + 17.0 |
| 10 | 38 | Rudi Fischer | Ferrari | 2:54.1 | + 18.2 |
| 11 | 10 | Henri Louveau | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:56.2 | + 20.3 |
| 12 | 4 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:57.3 | + 21.4 |
| 13 | 42 | José Froilán González | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:57.3 | + 21.4 |
| 14 | 14 | Stirling Moss | HWM-Alta | 2:58.4 | + 22.5 |
| 15 | 6 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 3:00.3 | + 24.4 |
| 16 | 52 | Peter Hirt | Veritas | 3:01.6 | + 25.7 |
| 17 | 32 | Harry Schell | Maserati | 3:02.4 | + 26.5 |
| 18 | 2 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 3:02.5 | + 26.6 |
| 19 | 30 | Louis Chiron | Maserati | 3:03.8 | + 27.9 |
| 20 | 12 | George Abecassis | HWM-Alta | 3:05.1 | + 29.2 |
| 21 | 40 | Guy Mairesse | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 3:12.0 | + 36.1 |
| DNA | 34 | Prince Bira | Maserati | – | – |
| DNA | 36 | Toni Branca | Maserati | – | – |
| DNA | 46 | Francis Rochat | Simca-Gordini | – | – |
| DNA | 48 | Robert Manzon / Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | – | – |
| DNA | 50 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | – | – |
| Source: ||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 24 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 42 | 2:07:53.64 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 44 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 42 | + 55.24 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | 22 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 42 | + 1:19.31 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | 28 | Consalvo Sanesi | Alfa Romeo | 41 | + 1 Lap | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 40 | + 2 Laps | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 20 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 40 | + 2 Laps | 7 | |
| 7 | 30 | Louis Chiron | Maserati | 40 | + 2 Laps | 19 | |
| 8 | 14 | Stirling Moss | HWM-Alta | 40 | + 2 Laps | 14 | |
| 9 | 8 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 39 | + 3 Laps | 8 | |
| 10 | 4 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 39 | + 3 Laps | 12 | |
| 11 | 38 | Rudi Fischer | Ferrari | 39 | + 3 Laps | 10 | |
| 12 | 32 | Harry Schell | Maserati | 38 | + 4 Laps | 17 | |
| 13 | 2 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 35 | + 7 Laps | 18 | |
| 14 | 40 | Guy Mairesse | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 31 | + 11 Laps | 21 | |
| Ret | 16 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | 36 | Accident | 9 | |
| Ret | 10 | Henri Louveau | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 30 | Accident | 11 | |
| Ret | 12 | George Abecassis | HWM-Alta | 23 | Magneto | 20 | |
| Ret | 6 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 14 | Ignition | 15 | |
| Ret | 18 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 12 | Accident | 3 | |
| Ret | 42 | José Froilán González | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 10 | Oil pump | 13 | |
| Ret | 52 | Peter Hirt | Veritas | 0 | Fuel System | 16 | |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

## Championship standings after the race
### Drivers' Championship standings

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 9 |
| 2 | Piero Taruffi | 6 |
| 3 | Nino Farina | 4 |
| 4 | Consalvo Sanesi | 3 |
| 5 | Toulo de Graffenried | 2 |
| Source: |||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted toward the Championship.